New Year's Day

After taking my brother to Glasgow Airport for his flight back home to Spain, Lisa, my dad and I headed to the coast to kick start the New Year birding. Typically for the past few weeks, rain and strong winds characterised the day. Best were 11 Shovelers at Capringstone (a good Ayrshire count), 28 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Peregrine at Irvine Harbour, 60 Scaup at Barassie and small numbers of seabirds in Troon Harbour: one Black Guillemot, a Red-throated Diver, 12+ Razorbills, four Common Guillemots, a single Shag, 20+ Eider, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and four Grey Seals. After the severe gales which had caused power cuts and structural damage on Hogmanay we were surprised not to find more wrecked seabirds. The only bird we found was a dead Shag near Ballast Bank.